Autism Group Is Very Unhappy With Big Brother

It looks like there are some people who want to see the reality series, Big Brother pulled from the airwaves. No, I’m not talking about the people who just don’t “get” the series and wish it weren’t on anymore. In this case, the people protesting the show are a group called Autism United.

TMZ is reporting that John Gilmore, Executive Director of Autism United sent a letter to CBS as well as Sumner Redstone of Viacom, demanding that the network fire Big Brother 9 houseguest Adam Jasinski, cancel the show and issue an apology to people with autism, developmental disabilities and their families. The full letter, which can be viewed here goes on to say that not all people with autism are mentally retarded, and that the term “retard” dehumanizes mentally handicapped people.

In addition, Gilmore says they’re sending letters to CBS’ advertisers, asking them if they want their products associated with “language that demeans the people with autism and other disabilities.”

Well there’s nothing like a bit of controversy to stir up some publicity for Big Brother. Wasn’t it BB8’s Amber who made some comments last summer about Jews that got people’s fur ruffled? I totally get why Autism United is taking action. It’s part of what they do and Adam’s remarks were extremely insensitive. That said, the fact that the comments were aired during the episode makes sense to me.

Sure, Adam’s comments were used to further the storyline of the show but part of what I love about Big Brother is that we get to see a lot more reality than most reality shows portray. While the word “retard” is insensitive and Gilmore makes a great point about the use of the word dehumanizing mentally handicapped people, the fact is, people still say it. Whether it’s right or wrong, the word is still being used by people all the time. CBS didn’t portray Adam’s use of the word in a positive light nor did the use of the word go unnoticed by any of the houseguests. In fact, it stirred up some drama inside the house, effectively showing that use of the word is offensive and socially unacceptable. So while I don’t personally condone the use of the word, I’m not sure censoring is the best idea either.

Below is the segment from the episode: